IT was a war of nature versus urbanism at Altuzarra for spring/summer 2012, and happily there were no losers - instead, the result of the sartorial scuffle proved an ingenious and utterly unforgettable concrete jungle affair.
Sporty silhouettes in complex techno fabrics were paired with a brilliant multi-hued birds-of-paradise print, derived from a vintage Hawaiian shirt - an expertly balanced thematic dichotomy that in the hands of a lesser designer could easily have been a disaster. But Joseph Altuzarra has never been known to play it safe, and thus far his unconventional take on fashion and knack of breaking the rules and coming out on top has hit the right chord every time. From his cinematic Catwoman and Edward Scissorhands-inspired risqué leather patchwork catsuits of several seasons passed, to his masculine-feminine collection last season fusing Nineties grunge with Hollywood glamour, Altuzarra has a peculiarly chameleonic ability to present a radically new vision each season – though always with the chic futuristic aesthetic he’s made his trademark.
This time around, the vision was sleek and controlled. Aerodynamic and form-fitting, at times even scuba-like, black and white dresses and ensembles with techy Nineties-style zip detailing launched the show, followed by leather confections – the most interesting of which was designed to appear as a classic overcoat, and finally, brightly coloured loose knit sweaters and bold print dresses and skirts. Altuzarra’s idea to introduce bold jungle print to the jaunty mix came from an old shirt he happened across. “I liked the challenge of playing around with an old Hawaiian textile print and attempting to make it chic, I also wanted to present the duality of the natural with the techno urban,” he explained following the show. “When I started building the collection, it was an extension of last season’s fetishised outer urban-wear. I wanted to push this idea of functional clothing that is protection against the built environment – but take into spring.”
SEE THE ALTUZARRA SHOW ARCHIVE